Cornelia Cole Fairbanks

Cornelia Cole Fairbanks
Second Lady of the United States
In role
March 4, 1905 – March 4, 1909
Vice PresidentCharles W. Fairbanks
Preceded byEdith Roosevelt
Succeeded byCarrie Sherman
President General, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
In office
1901–1905
Preceded byMary Margaretta Fryer Manning
Succeeded byEmily Nelson Ritchie McLean
Personal details
Born
Cornelia Cole

(1852-01-14)January 14, 1852
Marysville, Ohio, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 1913(1913-10-24) (aged 61)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Resting placeCrown Hill Cemetery
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1874)​
Children5
EducationOhio Wesleyan University (BA)

Cornelia "Nellie" Cole Fairbanks (January 14, 1852 – October 24, 1913) was the wife of Charles W. Fairbanks, the 26th vice president of the United States. During her husband's tenure she held the unofficial position of the second lady of the United States from 1905 to 1909. She was a leader in the women's suffrage movement and considered a pathfinder to politics for American women in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Early life and education, marriage and family

Cornelia Cole was born in 1852 in Marysville, Ohio,[1] the daughter of Ohio State Senator Philander Cole and his wife, Dorothy (Witter) Cole.[2] She attended the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, from which she earned an A.B. in 1872.[3]

In 1874, she married Charles Fairbanks, whom she had met at Ohio Wesleyan while working for the school paper.[4] They had four sons and one daughter:[5][6]

  • Robert Fairbanks (who attended Yale)
  • Richard M. Fairbanks (who attended Yale and served as a captain in World War I)
  • Adelaide Fairbanks (who married Dr. Horace Allen, a physician)
  • Warren Charles Fairbanks
  • Frederick Cole Fairbanks

Cornelia and Charles Fairbanks moved to Indiana where he began practicing law,[when?] and she read with him and assisted in his practice, eventually encouraging him to enter politics.[4]

Activities

She was one of the founders of the all-women's Fortnightly Literary Club in Indianapolis, serving as its first president between 1885 and 1888.[7] She also served on the State Board of Charities during this period.[4]

With her husband serving as a U.S. Senator beginning in 1897, the couple came to Washington, D.C. In 1899 she hosted a trip for the British and American Joint High Commission to Alaska.[8] Fairbanks, Alaska was named in honor of her husband shortly thereafter.

Cornelia was elected President General of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in 1901, and she served two terms in that capacity. During her tenure she helped raise funds to construct the society's Memorial Continental Hall in Washington.[7] In 1907, her chapter of DAR was organized, with 28 charter members.[9] She was active with the George Junior Republic movement.[3]

After her husband left office, they traveled the world in 1910,[7] including an appearance in King Edward VII's court. Her attire from this event is housed at the Smithsonian Institution.[10] Fairbanks was a proponent of Protestant Christianity, and supported missionary work.[4]

Fairbanks died of pneumonia, aged 61, in 1913.[1][11] She was survived by her children, husband, and mother.[12] She is buried alongside her husband, who would die in 1918, in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.[13]

Legacy

Fairbanks' grave in Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis, Indiana.

Cornelia Cole Fairbanks was considered a powerful progressive operative behind the political scenes, and helped pave the way for women leaders in the United States. She helped construct the second Women's Club in the United States in Indianapolis through her service on the national board of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. She was considered feminine, yet a suffragist and proponent of women's rights. Historically she is remembered as a pathfinder to politics for American women in the 20th and 21st centuries.[14]

In her husband's will, he left funds for the Cornelia Cole Fairbanks Trust Fund, which helped create the Cornelia Cole Fairbanks Memorial Home, an alcohol addiction treatment center in Indianapolis.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mrs. C. W. Fairbanks Dead", The New York Times. October 25, 1913. Retrieved 2010-03-06
  2. ^ "Lineage Book, Volume 10", Daughters of the American Revolution. 1899. p. 200. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Woman's who's who of America", John W. Leonard. The American Commonwealth Company, 1914. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d "Madame President 1901-1905: Nellie Fairbanks, pathfinder to politics for American women", Lucy Jane King. Author House. 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  5. ^ "Robert C. Fairbanks Papers, 1898-1918" (PDF). Indiana Historical Society. 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  6. ^ "Presidential Children's Names", Name Nerds. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Indiana Magazine of History, Volume 9", Indiana University. 1913. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  8. ^ "Know your vice presidents and their wives", George Edward Ross, Barbara Novack. Hawkes Publishing Company. 1976. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "The Cornelia Cole Fairbanks Chapter" Archived 2009-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  10. ^ "Report on the progress and condition of the United States National Museum", United States National Museum. 1918. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  11. ^ "Many Mourn Death of Mrs. Fairbanks", Shelbyville Shelby Republican, Thursday, October 30, 1913, Shelbyville, Indiana, United States Of America
  12. ^ "Dead", Bedford Daily Mail, Saturday, October 25, 1913, Bedford, Indiana, United States Of America
  13. ^ "Indiana Statesman Succumbs to Intestinal Nephritis After Long Illness at His Home", The New York Times. June 5, 1918. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  14. ^ "Cornelia Cole Fairbanks" Archived 2009-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, Cornelia Cole Fairbanks Chapter DAR. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  15. ^ "Winter Newsletter 2005" Archived 2010-09-22 at the Wayback Machine
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Honorary titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Edith Roosevelt 		Second Lady of the United States
1905–1909 		Succeeded by